Let’s Try Not to Overhype These 2017 Games

Horizon Zero Dawn

Getting excited for an upcoming game is all part of the fun. Immersing yourself in gameplay trailers, screenshots, and hands-on previews is a great way to ensure you’re all clued up on the game even before it releases. But sometimes, expectations can get a little carried away. After Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky fell victim to overhype, let’s just make sure we don’t do the same to these games releasing in 2017.

Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn is almost upon us. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have gone back to their prehistoric lives and giant robot dinosaurs roam the world, players will take control of Aloy as she searches for answers to her unknown past. It’s certainly a different take on the post-apocalyptic setting compared to the done-to-death zombie affairs, and that’s part of what makes it so darn interesting.

This is a completely unique setting and premise compared to pretty much everything else out there right now, and that has fans clamoring to just jump in already. Guerrilla Games has done a great job at teasing the story and setting in trailers, and fans are interested to see what the Killzone developer can do with an entirely new IP. From what we’ve seen so far, the developer looks set to nail the action RPG genre, and build a significant franchise for Sony in the future. While this is all certainly promising, brand-new IPs sometimes need a game to refine features based on feedback and truly come into their own. From Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs to Guerrilla’s very own Killzone series, mechanics and ideas only really became fully realized in the sequels that followed.

That’s not to say that Horizon Zero Dawn isn’t going to be a great game. Guerrilla has certainly got the potential to knock this out of the park. Let’s just hope they deliver a world that continues to offer interesting things to explore.